The Chaperon - Review

The Chaperon (Sisters of Woodside Mysteries, # 2)

By: Mary Kingswood

Publication: September 6th 2018 by Sutors Publishing

365 pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Romance, Mystery

Source: Personal Audiobook Library

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Goodreads description--A traditional Regency romance, drawing room rather than bedroom.

Poor and widowed, Lucy finds a post as chaperon to two young ladies while their mother is awaiting the birth of her child. It sounds like easy work, well suited to her sociable nature, but the sisters squabble over their suitors, and there are tensions below the surface of the seemingly happy family. Then there is the charming Mr Audley, who is more interested in flirting with Lucy than in discovering where his sisters have disappeared to. And as for Lucy’s uncle, who lives nearby, she’s quite convinced he is hiding something. Curiosity is Lucy’s abiding sin, and one day it will get her into trouble.

Mr Leo Audley is rich, handsome and very successful with the ladies - until he meets widow Lucy Price, who isn’t the least bit susceptible to his flirtatious charm. His pride is piqued - surely he can find a way to seduce her? But Lucy challenges everything about him, and he finds himself unexpectedly falling for her. He’s never been in love before, but can he convince her that he’s more than a heartless rake? And when she draws him into her investigations of the mysteries surrounding his family and hers, they find themselves in deeper trouble than they could have imagined, and facing the possibility that someone in the family is a murderer.

Book 2 of the 5-book Sisters of Woodside Mysteries series, each a complete story with a HEA, but read all of them to find out all the secrets of the Winterton family!

I don't always enjoy mysteries. I know I have said it over and over here on the blog. But I listened to The Governess and really liked it, so I knew I wanted to continue the series. And it's hard to beat the $4.99 price for an audiobook that I got through Chirp. So I got book 2 in this Sisters of Woodside Mysteries series. And I am glad that I did.

I didn't mention Joanna Stephens much in my review of The Governess but she does a really good job with all of the voices in the story adding character. I was worried she would have exhausted her repertoire after book 1, but I've already started The Companion (book 3) and she is still able to bring a new voice into the mix.

Lucy is such a different character than Annabelle. Annabelle is pretty serious, and Lucy initially struck me as being flippant. But I learned that her chattering is not from being a silly girl. Thankfully. I don't know that I would enjoy reading from the perspective of a truly shallow character. Lucy is the only one of the Woodside sisters that is a widow. As such she is qualified to chaperon two girls newly come out as their stepmother must take things easy due to being pregnant. Lucy has a very good grip on society and what is expected of her and others. She does a wonderful job wrangling two spoiled brats and their suitors.

I loved that Lucy was just as affected by Annabelle's past romantic history. I can't for the life of me remember her initial suitor's name, but his treatment of Annabelle seems to have scared Lucy off young men. Her own deceased husband was rather old, and Lucy finds ease in the company of older men. I liked how this was worked in because I surely remember being affected by my sister's love life when I was growing up.

Leo is a playboy. He openly admits it. His sister warns Lucy away from him in the beginning. And she finds his flirting with her to be obnoxious and off putting. When he sees that this tactic of seducing the young widow won't work, he vows to be honest with her. What he finds is that she becomes his friend. One of the only true friends he has that he can truly be open with. And with that knowledge comes his desire for more than a fling with her. Leo also takes the censure and heat from his friend Tom's indiscretions upon himself. It is easy to let others believe him to be what they already expect. But doing so shows a depth of character that isn't exactly expected.

The mystery in The Chaperon was kind of two-fold. Was there any foul play at hand over Leo's sister's first two babies' deaths? Or were they simply accidents? How will things play out with baby # 3 that she is now expecting? And then also what has become of Leo's other sisters? (Half sisters.) He is convinced that his two brothers-in-law are hiding information and possibly even their locations from him. I liked that there wasn't one big mystery to be solved but two and that in some ways they connected and in other ways they were completely separate. I saw one of the big reveals coming a mile away. The other not as much.

The relationship between Leo and Lucy is what drove me forward and had me anxious to get back into the car for school pick ups so that I could listen. And the relationship has to always be more important than the mystery in order for me to enjoy these types of stories. The Chaperon succeeded in this area and may have been even better than The Governess. I did enjoy the two mysteries though. And so The Chaperon gets 4 Stars. Have you read The Chaperon? What did you think? Let me know!